Along an assembly line, various types of articles, such as diapers and other absorbent articles, may be assembled by adding components to and/or otherwise modifying an advancing, continuous web of material. In some processes, advancing webs of material are combined with other advancing webs of material. In other processes, individual components created from advancing webs of material are combined with advancing webs of material, which in turn, are then combined with other advancing webs of material. In some cases, individual components created from an advancing web or webs are combined with other individual components created from other advancing web or webs. Webs of material and component parts used to manufacture diapers may include: backsheets, topsheets, leg cuffs, waist bands, absorbent core components, front and/or back ears, fastening components, and various types of elastic webs and components such as leg elastics, barrier leg cuff elastics, stretch side panels, and waist elastics. Once the desired component parts are assembled, the advancing webs and component parts are subjected to a final knife cut to separate the webs into discrete articles or other absorbent articles.
In some converting processes, the discrete chassis may be advanced in a machine direction MD and may be arranged with a longitudinal centerline parallel with the cross direction CD. Further, the discrete chassis may be positioned such that a lateral centerline of the discrete chassis is parallel with the machine direction. The discrete chassis may be joined to front and back waistbands to form a continuous length of absorbent articles. The continuous length of absorbent articles may then be folded in a cross direction CD. During the folding process in some converting configurations, one of the front and back waistband webs is folded 180° into a facing relationship with the opposing waistband. Stated another way, the front waist region may be folded into facing relationship with the back waist region.
In some processes, it may be necessary to rotate the folded, discrete absorbent article in order to change the orientation of the discrete absorbent article for downstream processing, such as packaging. Apparatuses and methods as disclosed in U.S. Publication No. 2014/00112751 have been developed to change the orientation of the discrete absorbent article. The apparatuses used to change the orientation of the discrete absorbent article may include the use of a cam device such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,758,109. A cam device may be used to translate linear motion into rotational motion. Current cam designs include a follower that engages one or more sidewalls of the cam device. Due to the interaction of the follower against the sidewalls of the cam device, the followers undergo both radial and axial forces. For example, the follower may experience sliding contact with the sidewall of the cam device and the sidewall of the cam may push the follower in one or more directions. Generally, these forces increase relative to the speed at which the follower moves about the cam device. Manufacturers have continued to increase the speed of processing equipment, including cam devices, to meet the demand for products.
The greater the radial and axial forces that act on the follower, the greater the wear on the follower. Followers that experience high radial and axial forces need to be replaced more frequently, and manufacturers are restricted in which materials may be used to make the followers. For example, followers may be required to be made from materials, such as metals, that can withstand these relatively high forces. Further, manufacturers have been required to use lubricants to help reduce the forces exerted on the followers. The use of lubricants may lead to an increase in manufacturing costs and contamination of the products being manufactured.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to provide a process and apparatus for rotating and transferring a discrete absorbent article such that the cam device may operate at relatively high speeds with a force reduction.